From the same page: > some data we retain for longer periods of time when necessary. > We keep some data for the life of your Google Account if it’s useful fo

From the same page: > some data we retain for longer periods of time when necessary. > We keep some data for the life of your Google Account if it’s useful for helping us understand how users interact with our features and how we can improve our services. For example, after you delete a specific Google search from My Activity, we might keep information about how often you search for things, but not what you searched for. When you delete your Google Account, the information about how often you search for things is also removed. Incredibly vague, there is no reason email purchases couldn't be included in this category. > Sometimes business and legal requirements oblige us to retain certain information, for specific purposes, for an extended period of time. Again, "business requirements" can mean anything at all.